Amelia gripped the handhold Serena had created and pulled herself up before seeking the next one. Serena was just in front, using her magic to create little holes in the earth and stone. Together they ascended up the hole the Salinas Speaker had desperately created to escape.

Amelia could have jumped out easily, or used earth magic herself to bring the both of them to the surface. Instead, she was glad they had silently agreed to this slow ascent. It gave each of them valuable time to think and Amelia had plenty to think about.

Her mind raced between the sheer embarrassment of breaking down and crying in front of Serena, and the celebratory feeling of delight and satisfaction she felt over the most amazing kiss anyone had ever experienced!

Best of all, Serena had initiated! Nothing else could have assured Amelia her feelings were reciprocated as much as Serena’s hand wrapping around her head and pulling her in so gently and so boldly!

As she adjusted her limbs into the next set of handholds, Amelia ran her tongue over her lips. She could still feel that soft, sweet and yet somehow firm pressure from Serena’s lips. A phantom feeling of the kiss lay at the edge of her senses and that alone caused warmth and joy to ripple through her heart. If it were possible, she would have quite literally melted into a puddle of bliss.

Luckily she hadn’t melted, although if she had she would just have healed herself back up! The one thing she couldn’t heal away was the lingering embarrassment of spilling everything in such an ugly way. The emotional outburst took Amelia by surprise, and she hadn’t realised quite how scared she was of everything, despite how safe and powerful she was.

Most of all, she had been terrified of Serena being scared of her. She dreaded to imagine those crimson eyes looking at her in fear or apprehension. How happy she was when those eyes looked at her with only surprise and sympathy and in the end, when their lips broke apart, with desire.

Amelia ran the memory of the kiss over and over again in her head as she ascended the last few meters out of the hole towards the powerful beings that had been waiting for them all this time.

image [https://i.imgur.com/0ETpTo1.png]

Serena swallowed nervously. Clenching her fist against an open palm, she bowed deeply to the trio, who were waiting for them. She did not recognise two of them, but the third was unmistakable. Dressed in traditional silk Manwese clothing, the man hovered above the sandy cafe floor, crackling with blue energy that saturated the atmosphere with tension. Lei Gong the Stormlord, Greatlord and ruler of Kenhoro, had arrived.

“Stormlord,” she began, using the man’s preferred title while trying to keep her voice at the right tone. “I apologise for this disturbance that has befallen your city. May I explain what has happened here?” Serena stayed bowed, waiting for the reply.

“Look at this Lord-prospect!” Exclaimed one of the men she did not recognise. He had an arrogant posture and a long white beard. His clothes were expensive, but his hands were those of a fighter. “Do they not teach manners over in the Three Sisters? Hrmph! I told you, a native would not have caused this!”

“You are correct, Highlord Qiang,” said the other man, who was unknown to her. He had a noticeably slim build, sharp features, and narrow eyes. A single thick horn extruded from his forehead to the base of his skull, forming a kind of mohawk. “This one is Highlord Halen’s daughter? Is that correct?”

“Correct,” uttered Serena, maintaining her bow.

“And this one? Is this the human Speaker?”

Serena turned her head slightly to see Amelia had joined her in her act of submission. At least she could read the room. The golden hair was now dirty with sand, dust, sweat and blood and had clumped together awkwardly. Through a gap in the hair, Serena could make out those pink lips that not so long ago she had…

No. Now wasn’t the time.

“This is Amelia Thornheart,” Serena said. "Speaker Thornheart is a native of Karligard, a travelling healer that I have secured for House Halen.” A few moments lapsed, the only sound being the imposing crackling of the Stormlord’s energy as little bolts of blue lightning whipped up miniature sandstorms.

“Lord-prospect Halen, a word of advice,” said the unknown man who she was certain was another Highlord. “When in the presence of other Cascadian Lords, especially a Greatlord, it is seen impolite to hold onto Narean. Some of us might even take it as a threat.”

“Ah! My sincere apologies!” Serena had forgotten she was still holding onto the Word. It had cooled down, the hellfire on her horns and flaming tail had vanished inside the hole, but she had still maintained a grip on the divine aether inside her. She was in a state known as simmering. A battle state allowing Speakers to react quickly without expending too much effort.

Serena released her will on the aether inside her and felt it escape as it crossed the boundary into the realm of the gods. In its place, her aether reserves recovered as she absorbed the normal atmospheric aether. It was happening faster than usual; the atmosphere was saturated with aether with the Stormlord's presence.

“Forgive me, but I don’t recall your name, Highlord,” Serena said, trying to sound apologetic.

“Ha! This is what happens when you lock yourself away year after year, my friend!” Highlord Qiang laughed softly. “What’s the point in having so many great achievements if those who use them don’t know your face!?”

“My dear friend Qiang,” the man said in mirth, “Isn’t the achievement greater if it is done without the expectation of fame and glory?” In reply, Highlord Qiang smashed his two fists together. Serena could see they had seen battle many times.

“Fame and glory make the achievement, and the achievement makes fame and glory! Can’t have one without the other!” Highlord Qiang punctuated his statement by bringing his fists together once again.

“Nevertheless…” the man turned his attention back to Serena and Amelia. “I am Highlord Ru. I don’t expect you to recognise my face. I rarely leave my laboratory. Stand up straight, both of you. Too much bowing is impolite.”

Serena and Amelia both straightened. Serena examined Highlord Ru’s face. His face didn’t ring any bells, but his name did. She had definitely heard of it before. She turned the name over in her mind. With a glance at Amelia, she saw that she wasn’t looking at any of the trio in front of them at all.

Instead, she had a puzzled expression on her face and was looking at some unidentifiable spot in the sky behind the Greatlord and two Highlords. Serena glanced in the direction Amelia was looking at, but seeing nothing, turned her eyes back to Highlord Ru. Hopefully they would forgive the human for being a little rude. As she thought about pre-emptively apologising, the name Ru suddenly triggered a memory.

“Highlord Ru, are you perhaps the same Ru of the Ru-Barfield equation?”

“The very same! See, friend? Sometimes a name is all you need!” Highlord Ru said with a smile of pride on his sharp face.

“You invented the lifting engine! The equation that took demonkind to the skies!” Despite the tension in the atmosphere and the absolute monster crackling with energy at the back, Serena couldn’t help but blurt out the statement. “You’re the Aetherlord!”

“Ha! This one even knows my title! Yes, together with Highlord Barfield, the lord of the lumina, we discovered the equation. It was a joint effort, and so I cannot take all the credit. We only did the mathematics; it was the Centralis engineers that put it to the test!” Highlord Ru held a fan to his mouth. “Although if you ever meet with Barfield, and he pretends he did most of the work, give him a good smack for me, would you?”

Serena smiled nervously. “I wouldn’t dare, Highlord Ru…. Is it true the Empress herself gave you a Golden Eagle for the achievement?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Oh yes, I think it’s in some box somewhere. Hmm… I might have melted it down for an experiment… Oh well.”

She felt herself involuntarily gulp at that. Surely the highlord was jesting. He couldn’t have done that, right? Melt down a Golden Eagle for an experiment?

“Turning to the matter at hand…” energy lashed out in the atmosphere, vaporising small rocks near the Stormlord’s feet. Just the act of him speaking oversaturated the air with aether, causing an uncomfortable pressure to build up in Serena’s ears. The Greatlord’s eyes shone white with power, and when he spoke his breath was misted with dense aether. “Lord-prospect, I have seven dead and more injured. Explain the events that transpired here.”

Serena took a breath and glanced at Amelia. The human had stopped being fixated on the sky and was paying attention to the Stormlord, although her eyes kept flicking back to that nondescript location above. Serena began explaining the events of that day, starting with her arrival at the Highguard. She detailed her investigation and suspicions and how she had come to the cafe to plan their next move when two Speakers attacked them.

The highlords occasionally interrupted, seemingly very interested in the descriptions and behaviour of the Salinas and Turana Speakers. Serena did not hide Amelia’s part, explaining how she healed Serena and protected the both of them as the building collapsed.

What happened in the little pocket of rubble, she didn’t share.

“Qiang, thoughts?” The Stormlord asked at the end of her explanation. He hadn’t shown much changes in expression or emotion and Serena was thankful for that. The constant knot of tension his presence caused her put her in an uneasy state. This man could probably overwhelm her in a second.

Unless Amelia had something to say about it.

“It’s strange, Greatlord.” Qiang turned, bowing a little as he addressed the ruler of Kenhoro. “These groups generally prefer not to smuggle their goods through a business in central, often preferring an operation in the outer rings, or on ground level. For them to send two Speakers to fight in the city limits? To kill someone the papers referred to as a war hero this very morning?” The highlord cast an eye in her direction. “There is something more here than mere drugs or weapons.”

“Bigger than these Crimson Reapers as well,” Highlord Ru added. “Their leader isn’t a Speaker. The two attackers, as described, don’t match any of the rogue Speakers we know about in the East. These mercenaries have involved themselves in something too big for their boots. I’ll have the seismic stations keep an eye out. Perhaps we will pick up the movements of this escaping Earthlord.”

“Do that now, Highlord Ru,” the Stormlord commanded. Highlord Ru gave a deep bow to his master, and a smaller polite one to Serena and Amelia before smoothly exiting. “Secure the Highguard, Highlord Qiang. Arrest and interrogate them all.” Highlord Qiang gave his own deep bow and turned to leave.

“Highlord Qiang!” Serena called out, bowing again. She was too nervous to ask the Stormlord himself a question. The highlord turned towards her with a neutral expression.

“Yes, Lord-prospect?” He asked.

“Among the intelligence agents that were attacked…” Serena swallowed, “Were any of them… a male officer?” Highlord Qiang stared at her for a few moments.

“Officer Adachi was not among the dead,” the Highlord said, prompting Serena to breathe out a sigh of relief.

“And… forgive me, but there were two cafe workers. Two trainees of the academy here. I-”

“They are dead.”

“Oh.” A knot rose in her throat.

“Now excuse me, Lord-prospect, I am the commander of the city's security, and I have a part of the city to secure.” Highlord Qiang left, leaving the pair of them and the crackling Greatlord.

“To cause such trouble in my city,” the Stormlord said coldly. “You are both under house arrest. You will follow me to my estate. You-” the man suddenly stopped talking. A frown appeared on his face. The greatlord turned, facing away from them with his face tilted up to some invisible point in the sky.

“I do not understand, Father,” the greatlord said. He was quiet for a moment. Serena couldn’t hear or see who the man was talking to. She strained her senses, looking to the sky, trying to detect anything out of the ordinary.

“Who told you this?” The Stormlord questioned the sky, a note of confusion in his voice. A full half minute passed before he spoke again. “I understand, Father.” The greatlord turned to them. “Speaker Halen, Speaker Thornheart.” The shining white eyes seemed to linger on Amelia. “You are free to go by decree of my Overlord.”

“The Overlord?” Serena couldn’t help but exclaim. She frantically cast her eyes to the sky again but failed once more to detect anything other than clouds. Was the Overlord so powerful he was outside her ability to perceive him? Was he really there? Watching them?

“Thanks!” Amelia exclaimed, smiling. "Would you like me to heal the injured?”

“That will not be necessary,” intoned the Stormlord. “Lord Yulan is down the street. I suggest you find somewhere to reside outside of Central for a few days.” He turned his eyes to Serena. “I hope your stay at Kenhoro has no more surprises and that you leave when the repairs to your ship are done. I will send more workers to assist.”

“I… Thank you, Stormlord,” Serena clasped her hand and bowed deeply. Amelia did the same. Without replying, a bolt of lightning struck the man, and he travelled upwards at great speed before flying to somewhere else in the city outside of her vision and senses.

For a moment, all was silent.

“Bye!” Amelia was waving to a point in the sky. Serena looked at her with a mouth open.

“Did you just… wave bye to the Overlord?”

“Yeah! He’s super interesting!”

Seven hells! What next, tea with the Empress!? Serena rested her head against the palm of her hand for a moment, gathering herself. “Let’s go. Lord Yulan should be just down the street. Uh… we don’t look great, do we? Here…” Serena found some paper towels that had survived the fight. “Use these,” she said, offering some to Amelia.

“No need! Come here!” Amelia reached out a hand, and when Serena touched it some spell was activated. All the dirt, sweat and blood vanished from their hair, clothes and bodies.

“I thought you knew a cleaning spell…” Serena murmured, examining how pristine she was suddenly. “Is this what you used on me in the medical bay on the ship?”

“That’s right!” Amelia grinned happily, “If you ever want to skip a shower, let me know! Although…” She wrinkled her nose, “Even though it makes you perfectly clean, I still feel like having a wash, you know? Can we find another hotel, one that doesn’t hate humans?”

“Sure…” Serena nodded, “Let’s find Lord Yulan. He has all kinds of friends in the industry.”

Together they made their way down the street, and as the Greatlord had said, they found Lord Yulan pacing frantically, looking worried.

“Serena! Miss Thornheart!” Lord Yulan exclaimed, relief written on his face. “You’re alright! What happened!? Did you see the Greatlord!? What power!”

“Glad to see you’re alright, old man,” Serena said, giving him a hug. “There’s a lot to talk about. Highlord Qiang is in the process of raiding the Highguard, so I don’t know if you’ll be able to go back there for a while.”

“This is going to be terrible for business,” sighed Lord Yulan. “So, what’s happening with you two?” He eyed them both.

“Are there any hotels outside of the city centre that would be happy to have us stay? Any friends owing you favours?”

“Hmm…” Lord Yulan scratched his jaw. “I can think of a few. Actually, I know just the place. Let’s jump a tram, and then it’s a short walk.”

The three of them left the area. A crowd had formed, but the city guards were massed in great numbers and were keeping the situation under control. They slipped through a side alley, guided by a guard, before jumping on a tram.

The three of them rode in silence, not wanting to speak in public about the events that transpired. When they jumped off and began walking through quieter streets, Lord Yulan bombarded her with questions and she did her best to answer. Of certain matters that occurred in the hole as well as the part about the Overlord she kept secret. No need to complicate things further.

They soon arrived at a large inn on the outskirts. Where Highguard was tall, this place was stocky and wide. Serena found out that in the centre was a private garden, and the building and its two floors were wrapped around it. It was a modest, quiet inn. Perfect for their needs.

Lord Yulan was welcomed by the owner with a smile of joy, and the two nattered about all kinds of irrelevant things before Yulan broached the subject of them staying.

“I am Mister Weng, the owner of this establishment.” Mister Weng bowed to Serena and Amelia. “It is a great honour to have not only two Speakers stay here, but ones who saved my friend Lord Yulan from such a troubling situation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Weng prostrated himself even further.

“Mister Weng, I take it you have a room for us, then?” Serena asked.

“Of course, Speaker Halen. You are lucky that we still have a room remaining. The rest are occupied by festival-goers. I shall make it available to you free of charge, for as long as you wish.”

“No need. House Halen will pay the invoice. We won’t impose on you that much, Mister Weng.”

“Your generosity knows no bounds, Speaker.” Weng had a pleased smile on his face. “Here are the keys. My receptionist will guide you to your room.” He handed Serena a large brass key.

“I’ll let you two kids get on with it, then!” Said Lord Yulan cheerfully.

“Where are you going, old man?”

“Home, of course! I don’t live in the Highguard! Need to make sure my house is still standing!” Lord Yulan gave her a wave, “I’ll impose upon you two in a few days, I imagine I have a dreadful amount of paperwork to go over!” With that, Lord Yulan vanished, leaving Serena and Amelia alone with the owner and receptionist.

“Speaker Halen, Speaker Thornheart. If you could follow me.” The receptionist - a short, neatly-dressed human - bowed to them.

“Enjoy your stay!” Weng called out as they were led up a flight of stairs.

The receptionist led them around the terrace that surrounded the garden before coming to a stop at a door. The human bowed politely. “Here we are. There is a bell you can ring inside. It's connected to the reception. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, that’s all for now,” Serena said, and the receptionist left them alone.

She placed the key in the lock and opened the door. Looking inside, she swept her eyes over the room before closing the door and turning to Amelia awkwardly.

“Umm…” She muttered, not knowing what to say.

“What is it?” Amelia asked, pushing open the door and looking inside herself. “Oh my!” She exclaimed, flashing a look at Serena, cheeks going red.

The room was beautiful and luxurious, but one thing stood out among the luxuries that caused heat to rise in both Serena’s and Amelia’s bodies.

The lone bed that lay teasingly in the centre of the room.